BleedGopher
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Per Dana:
The spacious Airbnb offered everything Mike Rhoades needed: six bedrooms, close proximity to his new home office and a quick solution to an emergent situation.
Rhoades and his staff arrived at Penn State from VCU with a roster depleted by graduation and the transfer portal and not a whole lot of time to fill it. And in true Grinchian Who-Hash, Rhoades not only brought his three assistants, video coordinator, director of player development and director of recruiting, he even brought his favorite manager, Patrick Dorney, from Richmond to State College.
Finding permanent housing for everyone didn’t even make the top 100 on their to-do list. So Rhoades scored the Airbnb, moving eight guys into the six bedrooms (three enjoyed the camp-style confines of three twin beds in one room) for what qualifies, inarguably, as the cleanest frat house in town. “We were never there,’’ says Rhoades, who happily kept his clothes in five laundry baskets for easy grab-and-go access. “I don’t think we even used the microwave or the stove.’’
The only catch: They had to be out by Aug. 30. The first Nittany Lions football game, the owner explained, is Sept. 2.
And so it begins yet again at Penn State, where not even the head basketball coach can get himself a room for a home football weekend. The university and even its fan base has long proclaimed its desire to become a player in basketball. But while football continues to flourish — the university is making plans for a multi-million dollar renovation to Beaver Stadium that many thought would lay dormant in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal — basketball searches for something that sticks.
Sometimes quite literally. In the foyer of the basketball offices, workers recently peeled off the wall art on the beams proclaiming Micah Shrewsberry’s “Gritty Not Pretty” slogan after Shrewsberry, who fashioned an NCAA Tournament second-round team in just his second season, bolted for Notre Dame. The beams now declare, “Bold. Different. Aggressive,’’ the catchphrase Rhoades has coined. He is the fifth head coach in the last 12 years (not including interim Jim Ferry) to arrive in Happy Valley convinced he can build that which has never been constructed here: a consistently successful men’s basketball team.
All have enjoyed what Rhoades calls, “pockets of success.’’ An NCAA Tournament berth, an NIT title, a glimmer of hope that is all too quickly extinguished by what traditionally has been Penn State’s mediocre reality.
Rhoades, though, believes he has the secret to sustainability, and it lies within those three words now emblazoned outside of his offices. Bold, different and aggressive isn’t just the attitude he wants his Nittany Lions to employ; it’s how he intends to play. “We want to have an identity,’’ he says. “And we want to play to our identity as much as we can. So we’re going to be bold, we’re going to be different and no matter what, we’re going to be aggressive.’’
The big question is quite simple: Will it work? The Athletic posed that question to one long-time Big Ten assistant coach, who asked not to be identified so he could be candid. He responded quickly and succinctly. “No.’’
theathletic.com
Go Gophers!!
The spacious Airbnb offered everything Mike Rhoades needed: six bedrooms, close proximity to his new home office and a quick solution to an emergent situation.
Rhoades and his staff arrived at Penn State from VCU with a roster depleted by graduation and the transfer portal and not a whole lot of time to fill it. And in true Grinchian Who-Hash, Rhoades not only brought his three assistants, video coordinator, director of player development and director of recruiting, he even brought his favorite manager, Patrick Dorney, from Richmond to State College.
Finding permanent housing for everyone didn’t even make the top 100 on their to-do list. So Rhoades scored the Airbnb, moving eight guys into the six bedrooms (three enjoyed the camp-style confines of three twin beds in one room) for what qualifies, inarguably, as the cleanest frat house in town. “We were never there,’’ says Rhoades, who happily kept his clothes in five laundry baskets for easy grab-and-go access. “I don’t think we even used the microwave or the stove.’’
The only catch: They had to be out by Aug. 30. The first Nittany Lions football game, the owner explained, is Sept. 2.
And so it begins yet again at Penn State, where not even the head basketball coach can get himself a room for a home football weekend. The university and even its fan base has long proclaimed its desire to become a player in basketball. But while football continues to flourish — the university is making plans for a multi-million dollar renovation to Beaver Stadium that many thought would lay dormant in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal — basketball searches for something that sticks.
Sometimes quite literally. In the foyer of the basketball offices, workers recently peeled off the wall art on the beams proclaiming Micah Shrewsberry’s “Gritty Not Pretty” slogan after Shrewsberry, who fashioned an NCAA Tournament second-round team in just his second season, bolted for Notre Dame. The beams now declare, “Bold. Different. Aggressive,’’ the catchphrase Rhoades has coined. He is the fifth head coach in the last 12 years (not including interim Jim Ferry) to arrive in Happy Valley convinced he can build that which has never been constructed here: a consistently successful men’s basketball team.
All have enjoyed what Rhoades calls, “pockets of success.’’ An NCAA Tournament berth, an NIT title, a glimmer of hope that is all too quickly extinguished by what traditionally has been Penn State’s mediocre reality.
Rhoades, though, believes he has the secret to sustainability, and it lies within those three words now emblazoned outside of his offices. Bold, different and aggressive isn’t just the attitude he wants his Nittany Lions to employ; it’s how he intends to play. “We want to have an identity,’’ he says. “And we want to play to our identity as much as we can. So we’re going to be bold, we’re going to be different and no matter what, we’re going to be aggressive.’’
The big question is quite simple: Will it work? The Athletic posed that question to one long-time Big Ten assistant coach, who asked not to be identified so he could be candid. He responded quickly and succinctly. “No.’’
Penn State tries a new direction. 'No matter what, we’re going to be aggressive'
Former VCU coach Mike Rhoades takes over for Micah Shrewsberry. Can he finally make the Nittany Lions a consistent winner?
theathletic.com
Go Gophers!!